In a statement, the Palestinian faction said that the suicide drone, dubbed “Shehab,” was used in an attack on an Israeli naval gas platform off the coast of the Gaza Strip on May 12. As a result of the attack, production was halted at the rig.
Several Shehab suicide drones were launched by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades at Israeli military gatherings in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip on May 13.
Israeli sources confirmed that four to five drones were launched from Gaza. At least one was successfully intercepted by the Israeli Air Force, which released a video of the encounter.
#IDF release footage of the targeting of #Hamas Al-Qassam new suicide drone, just dubbed by themselves as the "Shehab" pic.twitter.com/wxktDZi1zC
— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) May 13, 2021
The Israeli military was expecting Palestinian factions to employ suicide drones. A day earlier, two attacks with drones were thwarted, according to Israel’s claims.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades are yet to reveal the specifications of the Shehab drone, which is similar in design to the Iranian Ababil-2. Copies of the Ababil-2 have been in service with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis (Ansar Allah) for years now.
Earlier, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades unveiled a new rocket, the “Ayyash-250”. The rocket was used in an attack on an airport in southern Israel.
Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza are clearly not willing to step back. The same goes for the Israeli military, which is still striking targets in the Palestinian enclave. As for now, a ceasefire seems unlikely.
source:southfront.org
